Zodiac killer still haunts victim’s sister as shocking new theory emerges: ‘I’m still hoping for closure’

For 50 years, Chris Chambers has wondered who killed his sister.

It was 1969 when Darlene Fearn, a popular waitress in Vallejo, California, became a victim of the self-proclaimed “Zodiac Killer.” The identity of the killer, who killed at least five people in California during the 60s, remains unknown to this day.

Chambers told Fox News Digital that her parents died without knowing who took their daughter’s life. But he’s hopeful that in his lifetime, answers will eventually emerge.

“I’m still hoping for closure,” Chambers said. “I think the truth is still out there. I haven’t given up.”

Chambers has come forward to Peacock for a new true-crime documentary titled “The Legend of the Zodiac Killer.” It aims to investigate the theory – coined by Professor Thomas Henry Horan – that money was nothing more than a hoax. Horan’s book “The Myth of the Zodiac Killer: A Literary Investigation” theorizes that there may have been more than one killer who wreaked havoc in the Bay Area and that the murders may not be connected.

The special, directed by Andrew Nock, includes interviews with loved ones, investigators, experts, a witness and critics who have questioned Horan’s belief, as well as Horan himself.

Chambers said he’s heard it for years. But she doesn’t want to rule out any possibility that could lead to answers.

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“I have to see it all,” he explained. “I have to keep an open mind because nothing else has worked. But it’s hard. Every time something comes up in the paper or online, I start over — thinking about the what-ifs. I’m hoping someone out there knows something — anything to help solve this crime.”

“I want to know who killed my sister,” Chambers said, fighting back tears. “And there are other families that are still grieving. Darlene is not just a character in a story. People sometimes forget that these are real people. And their families are still hurting… Now, I’ve read some theories that are just outrageous. Sometimes you can’t even think about it or look at it. But if you get a good group of people together, and they all start thinking differently, maybe something good can happen.

The first confirmed murder occurred on December 20, 1968. High school students Betty Lou Jensen, 16, and David Arthur Faraday, 17, were found shot to death while passing motorcyclists in a secluded area known as Lovers’ Lane. Jensen, who was pronounced dead at the scene, suffered five gunshot wounds to the back. Faraday was shot in the head but was still clinging to life. He succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital.

More than six months later, on July 4, 1969, a similar attack occurred four miles away. Fearn picked up his 19-year-old friend, Michael Maggio, and dropped him off at Blue Rock Springs Park in Vallejo. A vehicle entered the lot around midnight and drove away, only to return a few minutes later, History.com reports. According to the outlet, the driver got out of the vehicle and shot the couple.

Migo, who was hit in the jaw, shoulder and leg, survived. That same night, a man called the Vallejo Police Department and claimed responsibility for the shooting as well as a previous homicide along Lake Herman Road, the San Francisco Examiner reported.

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Just a few weeks later, the first letters allegedly written by the killer hit several San Francisco newsrooms. He taunted the press and police, boasted of his crimes and warned he would strike again. The letters contained ciphers that he claimed were his real identity. A long cipher solved by a school teacher and his wife from Silness. “I like hitting because it’s a lot of fun,” he continued a bit. The UK’s Independent reported that although the correspondence continued intermittently until 1974, the authenticity of many of the letters had been debated for years.

On Sept. 27, 1969, college students Cecilia Ann Shepard, 22, and Brian Calvin Hartnell, 20, were relaxing on the shores of Lake Berryessa, History.com reported. A man in a hooded costume with a white cross circle approached them holding a gun. He tied Hartnell’s wrists before stabbing them six times. Sheppard was stabbed 10 times. The stranger then called the Napa Police Department to report a “double murder.” Hartnell survived and Sheppard died two days later.

Then on Oct. 11, 1969, cab driver Paul Stine picked up a fare headed to the Presidio Heights neighborhood, the outlet shared. At the intersection of Washington and Cherry streets, the passenger shot the 29-year-old in the head. The killer tore off a piece of Stine’s shirt and sent it to the San Francisco Chronicle with the letter “The Zodiac”.

Chambers said she was 16 when her sister died. She later moved out of Vallejo to avoid media scrutiny following her family.

“I got an unlisted number and will let you know. [reporters] Not to call back,” he said. “My niece was only one and a half years old when her mother was killed. I didn’t want them to learn anything about me. I just shut everything down.”

“My sister was full of life,” Chambers reflected. “She was very friendly. She had lots of friends and was great to be around. She was a great girl. She was always smiling and very loving. I remember her picking me up out of the house and taking me places… How did I deal with that? [her death]? My family was always with me.”

According to Chambers, she was never able to contact Mego despite her best efforts.

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“I remember he couldn’t walk or talk for a long time,” she said. “I could never get him on the phone or talk to him in person. I tried a few times. I think one of my sisters might have talked to him. But she was really messed up. He wouldn’t talk about it.”

There have been other possible victims during the 60s and 70s. In 2021, the FBI announced that the Zodiac Killer case was “open and unsolved”.

Over the years, the case has spawned numerous books, films, and documentaries. Both professionals and amateurs have also tried to uncover the killer.

In 2021, a team of experts who investigate cold cases, known as The Case Breakers, claimed that the Zodiac killer was Gary Francis Poste, who died in 2018. However, no one has been charged or identified in connection with the murder.

At the time, Fox News Digital reached out to the Vallejo Police Department and the FBI in an unsuccessful attempt to reach Poste’s relatives. The San Francisco Police Department said it was unable to discuss possible suspects in the money case because its investigation is ongoing.

Arthur Lee Allen, often listed as a suspect, died in 1992.

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Earlier in 2020, a team of codebreakers cracked a 340-character cipher sent to the San Francisco Chronicle. It read: “I hope you’re having a lot of fun trying to catch me. … I’m not afraid of the gas chamber because it will soon send me to heaven because now I have enough slaves to work with.”

“Myth of the Zodiac Killer” executive producer David Karabinas told Fox News Digital that it’s important to look at the case from different angles.

“Is it possible that there is a single person who is a criminal mastermind who has managed to elude authorities, independent investigators and citizens for more than 50 years?” They said. “No one can understand it, no one can figure it out. Or is it possible that there is another answer? And maybe the other answer is preventing us from getting to the truth… I think everyone is trying to find the one killer, the one person who is responsible for all these events. But in doing so, we are limiting the number of people that we can see. And if we should doubt at all possible that we could possibly miss it” on”

“What we want to do with this documentary is spark a new conversation,” he continued. “…Maybe if we look at it from a different perspective, we can find closure.”

Even Fearn’s ex-husband Jim Phillips appeared in the documentary.

“His interview is very strange and overwhelming,” Karabinas admitted. “But I guess that’s the point… and what rocks are overturned?”

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For Chambers, time is ticking. But it is not too late.

“Many investigators have passed,” he said. “But there are people who still care. And God, if it can spark something in somebody.”

Chambers stopped.

“She was just a 22-year-old girl who loved life,” Chambers said of her sibling. “She was a good mother and a good wife. It was very difficult for my parents… they’re both gone now… but maybe this will bring some good people.”

“The Legend of the Zodiac Killer” is currently available for streaming. Fox News Digital’s Louis Casciano and The Associated Press contributed to this report.